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Chapter 21
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Last Lecture, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Dreams in Reality
Teaching, Learning, and Feedback Loops
Obstacles as Opportunities
Attitude and Positive Behavior
Entitlement vs. Earning
Summary
Analysis
Randy gets pulled over for speeding soon after moving to his new home in Virginia. When the Police Officer asks him why he has a Pennsylvania license, Randy responds truthfully that he has “terminal cancer” and that his family moved to Virginia to be closer to his wife’s family. The officer inspects Randy, telling him for a guy with months to live, he sure looks good. Randy says, “It’s really ironic. I look great on the outside, but the tumors are on the inside.” Randy then pulls up his shirt and shows the officer his surgical scars. The officer decides Randy is telling the truth, and tells him to slow his driving from now on. Randy says the “awful truth” is what set him free, before he drives home under the speed limit.
Randy’s positive, frank attitude when dealing with the police officer allows him to use the truth of his cancer to get out of a speeding ticket. Randy isn’t afraid to show the officer his scars: he uses the obstacle of his surgery as an opportunity to give the cop proof of his disease.
Themes
